Knife for microtomes.



No. 708,298. Patented Sept. 2, m2. E. BAuscH.

KNIFE FUR MIGRUTOMES.

(Application filed June 14, 1901.)

(No Model.)

llllll u limiter) blrnrns.

PATENT EDWARD BAUSCH, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BAUSCII & LOMB OPTICAL COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEWV YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

KNIFE FOR MICROTOIVIES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 708,298, dated September 2, 1902.

Application filed June 14, 1901. Serial No. 64,527. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, EDWARD BAUSOH, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Knives for Microtomes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to reference -numerals marked thereon.

My present invention has for its object to provide an improved knife or cutter which is capable of application to various forms of I 5 cutting instruments and adapted particularly for use upon microt-omes employed for cutting thin sections of material for microscopical examinations; and it consists in a simple means for holding anclsecuring the cutting-blade whereby it may be easily secured to and removed from the holder and whereby also a reasonably thin blade may be employed and held so as to permitits use in serialsectioning.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combination of parts, all as will be hereinafter fully described, and the novel features pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of c aknife andsupportconstructedin accordance with my invention. Fig.2 is a front eleva tion thereof. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view, and Fig. i is a cross-sectional view on the line at a of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a section on the line b b of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modification of the device adapted particularly for short cutting-blades.

Similar reference-numerals in the several figures indicate similar parts.

Theknife and holder I have shown in Figs.

1 to 5 is adapted particularly for use on a microtome such as shown in United States Letters Patent No. 325,722, granted to me September 8, 1885, while that shown in Fig. 6 5 may be used to advantage in connection with shorter cutting-blades. The holder shown frame 1 is arched and extends overthe knife 4, the latter extending between and being attached to the ends of the portions 5 and 6,

which extend downwardly from the ends of the body.

The knives employed for preparing or slicing sections of animal or vegetable matter for microscopical examination are necessarily provided with very delicate and sharp cutting edges, and to permit them to be ground or polished the knife or blade 4 is constructed in the form of a thin wedge in cross-section,

and in order to facilitate the sharpening operation the blade is removablymounted in the holder. The proximate faces of the end portions 5 and 6 are cut away or milled at their lower edges, forming recesses 8, in which the ends of theblade rest, and the upper edges 9 of the slots slope upwardly toward the rear, as shown, to form a fiat surface against which the upper end faces of the blade are clamped, While its lower surface projects slightly below the end portions 5 and 6, the faces 10 thereof being dressed off to raise them above the plane of the lowerside of the arm 2, and the surface of the blade is therefore substantially parallel with the arm 2. The rearward movement of the blade in the recesses 8 is prevented by means of pins or projections 11, which engage the rear edge of the blade, and the latter is secured by means of bolts 12, ex-

tending through apertures formed inthe portions 5 and 6, and which are provided with hearts 13, extending over the latter.

The 8: threaded ends of the bolts project above the top. 6, and engaging therewith are tightening devices, which in the long knife-holders in Figs. 1 to 5 are capable of adjustment to loosen the bolts when it is desired to remove the blade.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a modification of the support or holder adapted particularly for short cuttingknives and having for its objectto provide a simple construction whereby 5 the thumb-nuts on the ends of the bolts may be omitted and the latter adjusted simultaneously and quickly without materially increasing the height of the holder disproportionate to its length. This I accomplish by providing each of the securing-bolts with an annularrecess or channel near its upper end,

adapted to receive the slotted or forked end 15 of a clamping-plate 16. The latter extends across the top or body 1 of the arch and lies in rear of the bolts. The plate 16 is preferably formed from sheet metal, and the ends 15 thereof are bent upwardly at a. slight angle to the plate to form short lever-arms lying in rear of the bolts, and a screw 17 passing through the rear edge of the plate and threaded into the body 1 serves when screwed downwardly to elevate the arms and draw the bolts upwardly to secure each end of the blade.

As the arch extends relatively a considerable distance above the blade and out of contact therewith, theaperture thus formed permits the sections or specimens as they are out to be easily removed from the rear side of the blade, thereby preventing the operators fingers from accidentally coming in contact with the cutting edge. By supporting the blade at both ends the knife is held rigidly'and I am enabled to employ a lighter blade with which accurate cutting may be accomplished with any part of its edge, and this construction also permits the blade to be easily cleaned after each operation.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination with a knife-blade, a holder therefor extending over one side of the blade and having the recesses open at their lower sides in which the ends of the blade rest, of the fastening devices extending through the holder and engaging the ends of the blade.

2. The combination with a knife-blade, a holder therefor extending over one side of the blade and having the recesses therein open at their lower sides adapted to receive the ends of the blade, of the bolts extending through the holder having the heads engaging the ends of the blade to prevent its removal.

3. The combination with a knife-blade, of

a holder extending above one side of the latter, a portion of said holder being out of contact therewith and engaging the ends of the blade only, and adjustable fastening devices securing the blade at its ends and operable from the upper side of the holder.

4;. The combination with a knife-blade, angular in cross-section, of a holder extending over one side of the blade having recesses provided with sloping faces against which the ends of the blade are secured, stops for limiting the rearward movement of the blade, and clamping devices engaging the blade and operative from the opposite side of the holder.

5. The combination with a knife-blade, angular in cross-section, of a holder extending above oneside of the knife, a portion of said holder being out of contact therewith, and having the recesses adapted to receive the ends of the blade provided with the sloping sides against which the blade is secured, stops limiting the inward movement of the blade on said surfaces, and bolts adjustable in the support having the heads engaging the blade.

6. The combination with the arched knifeholder, of a cutting-blade extending beneath the arch and engaging the holder at its ends only, clamps engaging the ends of the blade and means for operating said clamps simultaneously.

7. The combination with the arched knifeholder, of a cutting-blade extending beneath the arch and engaging the holder at its ends only, the bolts having the heads engaging the knife ends, the lever-plate pivoted on the holder and engaging the upper ends of the bolts and means for operating said leverplate.

I EDWARD BAUSOH. Witnesses:

WM. L. PATTERSON, W. V. MOORE. 

